Monster

"Level 24 Soul Grandmaster." The middle-aged man nodded at the red-haired girl before him. Though she could not compare to Ning Tian, who had come before her, Wu Feng's Level 24 Soul Power still made her stand out among the many new students.

"Teacher Yan." Fang Xu stepped forward with Mu Feng and Di Qiuli. After Teacher Yan finished recording their Soul Power Levels, he noticed the two behind Fang Xu.

He nodded. "Place your hands on it."

Naturally, he understood the unspoken rule behind cutting the line. Aside from the three Gold Soul Coins Fang Xu earned for bringing in customers, he himself would take half of the ten Gold Soul Coins, while the remaining two would be pooled together and distributed as the final "dividend" among all the students involved.

Mu Feng and Di Qiuli's striking appearances naturally drew the attention of Ning Tian and the others, especially since Di Qiuli, standing beside Mu Feng, had the same dazzling golden hair as Ning Tian.

From their clothes, Ning Tian could tell that they did not come from any particularly renowned family or sect. Just as she was about to leave with Wu Feng to collect their new student supplies, Teacher Yan suddenly cried out in surprise behind her.

"Level 34 Soul Elder!"

Yan Jue stared blankly at the crystal ball on the table, which shone with dazzling light. The young mistress of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had only just tested at Level 30 Soul Elder, yet the Soul Power Level of the girl before him exceeded hers by a full four levels.

Hearing the commotion, Ning Tian and Wu Feng abruptly stopped. Ning Tian looked at the crystal ball in astonishment. Its glow was indeed visibly brighter than it had been during her own test.

She had cultivated tirelessly in the sect day and night since childhood. She had believed that upon entering Shrek Academy, her cultivation level would surely rank among the very best of the new students. Yet in this small registration room, her prideful cultivation had been surpassed by an unknown girl—and by a full four levels.

Di Qiuli knew that Mu Feng had reached Soul Elder a year ago. After another year had passed, she was curious about how much his strength had improved.

Once Yan Jue finished recording her Soul Power Level, she stepped aside and let Mu Feng come forward.

Mu Feng approached the crystal ball, closed his eyes, and placed both hands upon it, channeling in his Soul Power. In an instant, a radiance far surpassing Di Qiuli's nearly filled the entire room.

Yan Jue blurted out, "Level 39!"

Ning Tian had yet to recover from the shock of that Level 34 Soul Power when another youth appeared whose strength was nearly at the Soul Ancestor level.

If Yan Jue had not seen that Ning Tian and Wu Feng had not gone far, he would have dragged Fang Xu aside and demanded to know where he had found these two little monsters who had cut the line.

Fang Xu was even more stunned. After all, even after advancing to the second year, he had only barely reached the Level 24 Soul Power of that red-haired girl.

After one round of testing, he had unexpectedly become the person with the lowest Soul Power Level in the entire room.

Yan Jue placed both hands on their arms and only accepted their recommendation letters after confirming that neither of them was over twelve years old.

Mu Feng and Di Qiuli accepted the new student badges Yan Jue handed them. After smiling at him, they left. As they passed Ning Tian and Wu Feng, who stood frozen nearby, Mu Feng thought of how Ning Tian, still looking like such a lovely young girl, would undergo a drastic change of gender in Heavenly Inquiry Valley in the future. Tang San's twisted sense of humor sent a chill down his spine.

At that moment, Ning Tian was also looking at Mu Feng, her expression somewhat complicated. The instant their eyes met, Wu Feng beside Ning Tian and Di Qiuli beside Mu Feng both flared their nostrils slightly. One glared at Mu Feng with obvious displeasure, while the other swiftly gave his lower back a hard twist.

"Hiss!" Mu Feng winced in pain and hurriedly reached out to catch those troublesome fingers. The moment he touched them, however, the smooth, tender skin slipped away from his palm like a fish.

Unable to catch the culprit red-handed, Mu Feng could only turn back and glare at Di Qiuli. What the hell did this girl take today?

Di Qiuli turned her head away, ignoring Mu Feng's accusing glare. Just as he was about to walk past Ning Tian, her rosy lips moved slightly. "Hello."

Mu Feng paused, not expecting Ning Tian to take the initiative to speak to him just because he had glanced at her. Out of courtesy, he replied, "Hello."

"My name is Ning Tian, and this is Wu Feng. We are from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

Mu Feng introduced them as well. "I'm Mu Feng, and this is Di Qiuli."

Ning Tian continued, "I saw that you also came in through the special invitation passage. May I ask which sect you are from?"

Ning Tian had started the conversation to confirm whether they came from some semi-reclusive family. Their strength was simply too exaggerated; no small family or minor sect could possibly have cultivated talents like them.

Mu Feng shook his head. "We come from two different cities in the Star Dou Empire. We just happened to meet on the road and traveled together."

Ning Tian merely assumed that Mu Feng was concealing something and frowned. "Then how did you enter through the special invitation passage?"

Mu Feng smiled. "The line outside was far too long. Waiting until nightfall was not an option, so we found an upperclassman and pulled a few strings."

After saying that, Mu Feng worried that Ning Tian might think he was making it up, so he pointed toward Fang Xu, who stood beside Yan Jue.

"Alright, it was nice meeting you, but we still need to collect our new student supplies. See you next time." Mu Feng waved and bid farewell to Ning Tian and Wu Feng, who remained standing where they were.

After walking some distance away, Di Qiuli looked back at Ning Tian and saw that she still seemed absent-minded. Then she looked at Mu Feng. For some reason, the corner of his mouth had curled into a faint smile, adding an eerie, ghostly air to his already handsome face.

Bi Ji's words suddenly surfaced in her mind: "This little fellow is quite popular." Di Qiuli could not understand it. Although this guy looked decent enough, he was terribly wicked behind the scenes. She had been by his side all this time and had never noticed anything particularly appealing about him.

When Mu Feng reached the statue plaza and looked at the ten statues in the square, his gaze remained fixed on Tang San, who stood in the center with blue vines winding around him.

To fulfill his long-cherished wish, he had to become stronger—stronger than everyone else, including Tang San before him. Only then would his fate no longer remain in Tang San's hands.

"Shrek Academy?" Mu Feng smiled faintly. The greatest academy on the continent concealed far too many opportunities awaiting his exploration. At the center of the storm surrounding every major event to come on the Douluo Continent, it was filled with danger, but also countless opportunities.

A dark glint flashed through Mu Feng's eyes. Ye Xishui's curse still lingered in his spiritual sea. Once he broke it, he would be like a bird soaring into the heavens or a fish entering the sea, free of all restraints.

"When that time comes..." Thinking of this, Mu Feng could not help but chuckle. Several new students who had also come to register and collect supplies passed by him and merely assumed that he had been frightened silly by the grandeur of the first generation of the Shrek Seven Monsters. Otherwise, how could they explain him standing there alone, grinning foolishly at the statues?

Di Qiuli had already tugged at Mu Feng's sleeve twice after noticing his strange behavior. When it proved useless, she chose to slip into the crowd instead. Noticing the looks those people gave Mu Feng, she felt that she had been clever for once.